Sibwatch: Optimizing Intervention Options for Infants and Toddlers With a High Likelihood of Social Communication Delays and Language Disorder
University of Texas at Austin
Summary
This rigorous randomized controlled trial will evaluate the efficacy and acceptability of a preemptive, telehealth intervention (tele-ImPACT) in a large, representative sample of infant siblings of autistic children, who are known to be at high likelihood of receiving a future diagnosis of autism and/or developmental language disorder (HL-Sibs). If our hypotheses are supported, this innovative and interdisciplinary study will provide empirical support for a novel approach to treatment that is theoretically motivated and developmentally informed, as well as accessible for and acceptable to families, and will lend new insights into the developmental windows in which, mechanisms by which, and subgroups for which the treatment works. Such findings would have strong implications for research, policy, theory, and practice in young children at risk for autism and/or language disorder.
Description
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that is highly prevalent and that comes at a high cost to affected children and their families. The costs of autism can be attributed, at least in part, to the effects of the condition on children's social communication and language development. Younger siblings of autistic children (HL-Sibs) are highly likely to receive a future diagnosis of autism and/or language disorder themselves. Even those HL-Sibs who are not diagnosed have an increased likelihood of displaying differences in social communication and delays in language development. There is incre…